A Star Was Alone From the Moment It Was Born - 1
As Friday evening drew near, I was in the convenience store’s stockroom sorting through the items with expiry dates perilously close to the edge. I paid for them out of my own pocket. They would become useful food for the people at the church and the temple.
'There are a lot of snacks left over today.'
Well.
More is more.
The calculator beeped indifferently.
Beep—
At the same time,
my phone rang too.
Riiing—
“!”
I stopped the calculation and answered.
“Hello?”
“Ah, hello? Good evening, Manager Seonwoo. This is Pastor Kim Ji-hwan.”
He was the pastor at the church I donated to often.
“Yes, good evening.”
“I’m terribly sorry to ask this of you as the one receiving your donation, but... would it be all right if we shared the things you gave us with other people as well, instead of only our church members?”
“?”
Was this... a declaration of flipping donations for profit?
Or was he planning to cover church finances through a secondhand market?
Honestly, either way, I didn’t care much.
Still, I figured I ought to mention a few things.
“Yes, well... I don’t really mind. Once it leaves my hands, it’s all under the pastor and deaconess’s care. But if a religious institution gets caught selling food separately, it could cause problems.”
“S-sell it—?!”
Pastor Kim exclaimed in alarm, then hurried to correct himself.
“Oh, heavens! Sell it? If I did that, God would punish me! How could I ever do such a thing to the goods you offered out of goodwill, Manager Seonwoo?”
“I’m sorry. I jumped to conclusions.”
“N-no, it’s fine.... My explanation wasn’t sufficient.”
He calmed himself and explained again.
“If we can’t eat everything we received, I was going to ask whether it would be all right to share some of it with another organization.”
“...I see.”
So it wasn’t selling, but sharing.
'So they’re planning to pass it on to a homeless shelter or something. Though they wouldn’t really need to call me for that.'
That second round of donation was not something I needed to be involved in either.
“Like I said earlier, once I’ve handed the goods over, I don’t intend to interfere with how you use them. Please do as you wish, Pastor.”
“Thank you.”
Pastor Kim then carefully explained the details of the second donation.
“Actually, I know someone who runs a small orphanage in Seoul. The children there are very fond of snacks, you see. Lately, their operating costs have become rather heavy.”
“Snack prices have gone up a lot recently.”
“Yes, exactly. When I heard that, I thought of the things I received from you, Manager Seonwoo. I wondered if I might pick out a few boxes of the snacks the children would like and send them over there....”
“....”
He trailed off at the end. He was probably worried about how I, as the donor, would take it, even though I would have no way of knowing if he hadn’t said anything.
'...Was he worried that if I found out they were sending it to another organization, I’d think it went against the spirit of the donation? He’s absurdly conscientious.'
I answered lightly.
“As I said earlier, once I hand something over, I don’t intend to dictate how it’s used.”
“!”
Pastor Kim replied in a bright voice.
“Thank you for allowing it!”
“Are you planning to sort through the things I brought last time and head straight to the orphanage?”
“Ah, yes.”
“In that case, why don’t I visit there myself and hand them out? I was planning to leave tomorrow anyway, so if you give me the orphanage’s address, I can go.”
“Eh...?”
“Think of it as adding one more place to donate to.”
“?”
Pastor Kim fell silent for a moment, as if he hadn’t quite understood. Then, realizing I meant to go myself, he hurriedly said in an apologetic tone,
“Oh dear...! No, no! That would be far too much trouble for you, Manager Seonwoo. We’ll handle it ourselves.”
“....”
I answered again, just as casually.
“It’s fine. I happened to have a lot of snack inventory left over this time, and I was already looking for somewhere else to donate it. An orphanage recommended by the pastor should be trustworthy.”
“....”
Pastor Kim paused again. Then, in a voice so soft it sounded as though he had bowed his head while speaking, he said,
“Truly, truly... thank you.”
“It’s nothing.”
A few minutes later,
I checked the address he sent by text.
“....”
'Olive Sprout Orphanage in Mangwon-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul... Hm. It’s in an alley, so parking there’s going to be a pain.'
Thinking that, I was about to enter the address into the truck’s navigation system parked in front of the convenience store, when a familiar voice reached me and I had no choice but to turn.
“Manager-nim~!”
“!”
Far off in the distance.
Almost twenty meters away.
Ayoung was running toward me while waving.
“Maaaanager-nim~!”
“....”
'Why is she waving from more than twenty meters away while coming over...?'
Clink-clink
Her yellow hair swished like a ponytail as she sprinted up, and before long she reached the front of the convenience store. Bent over and breathing hard, she broke into a broad smile.
“Huff, manager-nim! Hello.”
“Hello, Ayoung.”
“Today, huff.... You’re not surprised. Thank goodness.”
“?”
“Anyway, whew....”
....
After dropping her head to catch her breath for a moment, Ayoung snapped her chin up with a serious expression.
“You watched the broadcast, right...!”
“Yes, I did.”
“A-and? What did you think?!”
“It was good.”
“What was good about it?!”
“Aki-chan held the center of the stage properly. Even in front of RD, with their enormous fandom and exceptional skill at running a broadcast, she never lost her balance. I thought it was probably the best hosting she’s ever done on Aki-chan’s stream.”
“!”
Ayoung’s eyes sparkled in the sunset. Then she looked startled for a moment and fidgeted with her baseball cap. The backlight from the setting sun cast a shadow over her face.
She rubbed one foot against the ground.
Scrape.
Scrape.
Dirt and gravel rolled under her shoe sole.
And from there,
a shy little voice escaped.
“Th-that...”
“Yes?”
“Could you say it again?”
“?”
What was she talking about?
“Say what?”
“My, my VTuber name....”
“Aki-chan.”
“....”
But that wasn’t enough.
“A-and add a compliment too.”
“?”
For some reason, I could see a bit of Berry, ABCD’s spoiled little brat, in her expression.
....
Berry is the cutest in the whole world~?
'She’s asking for more feedback than usual. Maybe all the live streaming lately has rubbed off on her through Berry, her fellow member.'
I happily gave her the feedback she wanted.
“Aki-chan was the best.”
“...Heh.”
“Aki-chan was the most dazzling.”
“....”
Ayoung froze for a moment.
Heavy silence fell.
....
....
Ayoung hurriedly shook the silence off, then adjusted her baseball cap over and over again. The hat, which had been quietly guarding the top of her head this whole time, was the only one suffering.
“A-anyway. Yes! I worked hard, you know!”
“You were excellent. I saw all of it.”
“Hehe...! O-oh, and the membership stream?”
“Of course I watched. Using AR to show a short performance on the subway was clever.”
“Hehehe.... Right? Aki-chan is the best, isn’t she?”
....
She was especially hungry for validation today.
But in life....
There were days like that.
I decided to indulge her.
“Yes, Aki-chan is the best. The cover song was excellent too.”
“Hehe.... That, you know, was prepared in three days?”
“As expected of Aki-chan. To finish the mixing and even a simple MV in that short a time. Very professional.”
....
At last satisfied, Ayoung grinned. But the grin gradually softened into a faint smile. It was a smile that looked a little fleeting.
“D-do I look like a proper idol now?”
“No.”
....
I corrected the premise.
“Aki-chan has always been a wonderful idol. You don’t need to wait for anyone else to grant you that identity. You were wonderful from the start.”
“...!”
Silence fell again.
....
....
What broke it was Ayoung’s palm.
“Aww, come on...! Seriously—!”
That sharp palm came flying toward my back.
Smack!
“That hurts.”
“You keep pampering me like that all the time! I don’t even know, seriously!”
....
What on earth was that supposed to mean?
*
Some time later.
We sat side by side at an outdoor table and ate dinner together. Beyond us, in the dark sky, we watched fireworks blaze brilliantly.
Breaking through the darkness hidden inside the nightscape,
a single streak of light rose.
Whoooosh—!
The little trail of light disappeared for a moment. Then, with a thunderous boom, it burst apart. Gathering countless sparks and dazzling glitter into itself, it became a decoration draped across the hazy scene.
Boom—!
And then the nightscape returned to normal.
A fleeting beauty,
a single moment of fireworks.
Ayoung murmured,
“Wow! Fireworks.... They really are easy to see from here. Is there some event going on over there?”
“It’s a concert. Today, an overseas pop star is performing at Jamsil Baseball Stadium. This should be the final number by now.”
“Hee, you sure know a lot. Do you like pop songs?”
“...Not really.”
“Then how do you know so much?”
“It just happened that way.”
“?”
Ayoung tilted her head for a moment, then looked back at the fireworks. High in the distant sky, the bursts danced. And the heavy background rumble that rolled through the air could be felt in her skin.
“Will we ever be able to sing on a stage like that too? With fireworks shooting everywhere and all that.”
....
The venue ABCD was negotiating for their July live was an indoor hall. So a live performance with fireworks wasn’t possible.
Even so, I offered her the possibility.
“If you keep working hard, Ayoung.”
“Isn’t that a little too much of a stock answer?”
“It isn’t.”
....
I believed it.
One day,
maybe you really would get there.
'...That’s what the big plan is for.'
Whether I’d still be able to see it by then...
I didn’t know.
Ayoung said to me,
“Then please keep watching us until then.”
....
I couldn’t answer.
But Ayoung called me again.
“Manager-nim.”
“Yes.”
....
“?”
“I just called you.”
....
“Yes.”
Nodding,
just as I was about to look back at the fireworks,
she called me again.
“Manager-nim.”
“Yes.”
“Manager Seonwoo.”
“Yes.”
“Taek oppa.”
“...?”
I looked at Ayoung in silence.
She snickered and said,
“Ah, can I still not call you oppa?”
“It’s not that you can’t. But there’s an age gap between us, isn’t there? And in terms of our positions, it’s employer and part-timer.”
“Only four years apart, and you make me skip work all the time anyway.... You’ve already spoiled Ayoung out of all her habits, and you’re still Manager-nim?”
“That’s....”
“That’s?”
....
“?”
“Nothing.”
“Pfft...!”
What was so funny?
Ayoung giggled until her shoulders shook.
“Fine. I won’t call you oppa.”
“Yes.”
“Taek oppa.”
....
“Puhuh....”
Under the fireworks that kept bursting without pause,
she wore a troublemaker’s smile as she said,
“Will oppa keep running the convenience store here forever?”
“Are you planning to keep calling me that until the end?”
“Eek! Answer me!”
Ayoung leaned forward like a heron snatching food and poked my shoulder with the brim of her cap.
“Poking me with the edge of your hat actually hurts quite a bit. Probably more than you’re imagining.”
“How would oppa know what’s in my heart?”
....
What the hell was this...? Today in particular, the mood kept bouncing around.
Ayoung pressed me again for an answer.
“Anyway! Answer me!”
“Well.”
“The convenience store is just a front, and you actually make money in stocks, right?”
“Do I look like that to you?”
“Yes.”
....
I think I’d been found out.
But when I thought about it,
it was stranger that she hadn’t noticed sooner.
'Still, she didn’t bother asking what I actually do for a living...'
Keeping her gaze far away, Ayoung said in a wistful voice,
“You’re always staring at stock charts on your phone, and yet you completely leave the convenience store alone. But you don’t just abandon it either, since you go around donating things to people nearby....”
....
“And....”
....
“...you tell me to rest, and keep cheering me on all the time.”
....
“No matter how you look at it, you don’t seem like a normal convenience store manager.”
“I see.”
Well....
I wasn’t a normal manager.
To begin with, I wasn’t even a normal person.
....
....
Suddenly, Ayoung opened her mouth again. This time, the hesitation in her tone was plain to hear.
“By any chance...”
“?”
“Um.”
...?
“Never mind.”
“Is that so.”
The question ended anticlimactically.
But the one that followed was sharp again.
“So, oppa, what are you planning to do about the convenience store? If you leave it like this, it looks like it’ll go under. Don’t we need to protect our convenience store? You have to still be here by the time we do the live with the fireworks and all that....”
....
I calmly pointed it out.
“Oppa again?”
“Pffft! No, seriously, you look so awkward when I say it that it’s funny.”
....
I decided not to react to the title anymore.
Instead, I answered the original question.
“As for the convenience store....”
“The convenience store?”
“When the right time comes, I’ll take the appropriate measures.”
“I see.”
Ayoung laughed happily, as if the answer itself pleased her.
“I hope you stay.”
....
Just as silence was about to begin again,
I decided to make her one more promise.
“One thing.”
“?”
“I’ll definitely promise one thing.”
“What promise?”
“July.”
“Next month?”
“Until July... no matter what happens, I’ll protect this place.”
“?”
Until July 31st,
until that day arrived.
“No matter who comes, no matter what they do, no matter what happens.”
....
“I’ll protect it. I promise.”
....
Ayoung focused more on the date than on the substance of my promise.
“Hee, July, huh....”
She smiled slyly and pointed out,
“There isn’t much time left, you know? Next week it’ll already be July. Aren’t you being a little too timid? Stay with us a little longer. I’ll try harder too.”
“….”
I couldn’t answer that criticism.
“...You do have a point.”
Friday night.
The fireworks were still going on.
---